Camera Recording Questions

Hey everyone I am looking into HD and filming with the Cinealta, needless to say the cost of filming without an SRW-1 deck is much more affordable than using one, by over a $1000 a day.

I still feel like Sex and Lucia is the probably one of the best films ever shot on video and yet it was made in 2001. So is it safe to assume they shot it via just recording HDCAM in the camera? I watched the making of and didn't notice any type of video village or external deck...don't think they even had them back then.

I also looked at some behind the scenes pictures and they are using one of the Canon zooms. I was amazed that a movie made 7 years ago with a zoom still looks better than recent HD efforts.

Also there are moments in Wolf Creek and Me and You and Everyone We Know that really look fantastic (I believe they were both shot HDCAM with zooms). I am yet to see Jackpot, but I have heard good things, and for an early HD movie I am assuming it was also shot HDCAM.

If I rented an f900R and shot without an SRW-1 deck I believe, after perusing the forums, that I will be shooting in 3:1:1 and with lower resolution than the camera+SRW-1 deck is capable of pulling off.

The downside of this to me seems besides the obvious less resolution, there is less ability to color grade in post.

I would shoot 2.35 like Sex and Lucia (which was definitely heavily graded) and obviously if fortune comes my way it will be outputed to 35mm film for theaters.

Will I be kicking myself later if I go without the deck? I am not doing any visual effects. However I would want to color correct. Is shooting in 3:1:1 that limiting? I look at Sex and Lucia and don't get what people are really preaching, unless I am missing something and most of that was done in camera with filters and such.

What concerns me more is cropping to 2.35 without the gained resolution of the SRW-1 deck. Again I recognize Sex and Lucia where this didn't seem to be a factor as it looked great.

Has anyone any knowledge or experience (Mr. David Mullen I am sure you can help) that could steer me in the right direction. It is still early, but this decision lets me know what kind of camera budget to shoot for.

Color grading with SR is much better than HDCAM simply because of the bit depth you have with SR... 10 instead of 8 bits. Also shooting in 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 is better than 3:1:1 obviously. I would take a look at trying to get a hold of a sony F23 instead of a 900R, having an SR deck tethered to you is a huge pain in the ass.